The Abyss
by Cynical-Britton
Summary: If you stare into the abyss long enough, you soon become a part of the abyss. (two-shot)
1. Chapter 1

Duskfall shivered violently as the biting cold wind ripped through his blue-gray fur, causing him to curl up in a tight ball on the stone cold dirt beneath him in a desperate attempt to keep warm. He should have never agreed to come here, to come to the place of no stars.

The dark forest had been growing in power recently and had expanded its territory, claiming the furthest regions of uninhabited Starclan territory as its own. This was more than enough to concern Starclan, so they sent Duskfull to find a way to stop its expansion by any means necessary. He was chosen because he had an unbreakable will, Starclan thought that if this forsaken place could corrupt good cats then Duskfall would last longer than anyone else.

The blue-gray tom would leave if he could, but the place of no stars' territory was a massive mess of gnarled, dead trees and mist, all surrounded by a darkness that threatened to swallow you whole, it was like navigating a labyrinth that once entered, you could never leave.

Not only that, but he feared that everything that made him Duskfall would fade away. The tom could feel the dark forest picking apart his mind, rooting itself deep inside and corrupting him, like some awful parasite that took control of its host.

Another chilling wind passed by the blue-gray tom making him shiver again as he began to cough badly. He missed Starclan, where it was permanently warm like green-leaf. Unlike here, a cold and bleak, lifeless forest.

Duskfall always thought that once joining Starclan, he could spend the rest of eternity with the cats he loved, now he was being forced to accept the reality that he was going to lose his mind, isolated from everyone and everything. To him that was far worse than dying a second time.

He began to cough again. Coughing turned to hacking, worse than any greencough anyone could experience until he spat out something. It was midnight black, it oozed like blood and it reeked of death. Whatever sliver of hope Duskfall had was extinguished - the dark forest wasn't just taking his mind, it was taking his body.

The only thing that kept him sane was the thoughts of his mate, Silverheart. Even now Duskfall could feel her warm, soft, gray fur brushing against his own as she looked at him with love in her blue eyes. Oh, what he would give to feel that for one last time.

Duskfall purred weakly, it was a shame he never got to say goodbye.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello there, I know this is a little unusual, but I'd recommend listening to Dark Souls OST - Artorias the Abysswalker. It actually fits quite well for this chapter (in my opinion anyways)**

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Grayfur stood at the mouth of the dark forest's entrance. The mouth of the forest seemed to swallow up light as the dead, withered trees grew in such a way that the entrance that he stood before was the only way in and the only way out, anywhere else seemed to have been blocked off by the trees.

No wonder Duskfall hadn't returned. Speaking of which, that's why he was sent, to finish was Duskfall started and, if possible, bring him back to Starclan. But he doubted that he was alive. Alone in the dark forest for almost three moons and still alive? No, it's impossible.

The gray tom felt the cold wind blow by him, making him shiver. Grayfur steeled his nerves as he walked towards the forest entrance.

Light seemed to fade and dim instantly as the cold intensified. The gnarled trees stretched on infinitely only to be swallowed by the dark that surrounded them. So this was the dark forest. He could already tell this was no place of a Starclan cat.

Grayfur picked a random direction to go in, he picked northeast, and headed towards it. The gray tom noted how quiet everything was, how everything seemed devoid of life. It was sad really, to be left all alone, here of all places.

The further he traveled, the colder it became and the darkness became thicker, the twisted trees seemed to become more sparse. "I must be heading towards the heart of the territory" Grayfur muttered to himself.

The gray tom continued to walk for what seemed like hours, never coming into contact with another soul. He only knew form the murmurs of others that the place of no stars was reserved for only the monsters of the clans, cats who deserved more than just rotting in a forest, but he expected to have ran into someone. Perhaps the dark forest was more massive than it seemed? Or maybe the cats that resided here preferred to keep to themselves.

Grayfur was snapped out of his musings by a cat bursting through some trees to his left before they skidded to a halt three fox-lengths away from him. The gray tom jumped in surprise before unseathing his claws, ready to defend himself if need be.

The cat was skinny with unkempt light brown tabby fur, Grayfur could tell by looking at their slender frame that they were a she-cat. Her blue eyes wild with fear and shock. Funnily enough, like the cats of Starclan, they had an aura but Starclan cats - who's aura was radiant and similar to frost in leaf-bare, giving the affect of stars on their pelt - the cats aura was... dull, like it wasn't really there.

"Who are you?!" Grayfur hissed.

The dark forest cat turned towards him and their eyes brightened with relief. Confusing Grayfur. Shouldn't she be attacking him or at be least hostile?

"T-thank goodness, I-I'm saved!" She declared happily, her voice shaking in what was most likely underlaying fear.

"What are you talking abou-" Grayfur began to ask before being cut off mid-sentence.

"There's t-this... thing chasing me. Please! Y-you have to help me!" She pleaded desperately.

The gray tom considered the request for a moment. It could be a trap, she was in the dark forest for a reason and for all he knew this 'thing' could have been more dark forest cats lying in ambush, ready to rip him to pieces. But that seemed unlikely. She sounded genuinely terrified, and frankly that put him on edge.

"Alright, I'll help. But can you at least tell me your name?" Grayfur called to her.

"T-thank you! I-I'm Owlwing" Owlwing answered. She began to move towards him, staring at him like he was some sort of saviour.

But something dropped down from the trees above her. The surprise attack stunned the dark forest she-cat as she toppled underneath the weight of her assailant. Owlwing squirmed desperately trying to escape to no avail.

She looked at the Starclan cat before her, blue eyes silently begging and pleading him to save her. The look was quickly replaced with pain as the attacker pressed down hard on her neck until the snapping of bone rung through the forest. The attacker stared at the corpse as it became more transparent.

Grayfur looked in horror and disgust as her body began to fade. She may have been a dark forest cat, but she didn't deserve to die like that.

Owlwing's murderer was a blue-gray tom with the black ooze snaking across him with broad shoulders, a tom by the looks of it. Something seemed to be dripping from them, it was thick and was as dark as the abyss that surrounded them. Their aura was strange, it was like a Starclan cat's, yet it was fading.

Could it be who he thought it was?

"Duskfall?" The Starclan tom whispered.

 **"You.. You're no dark forest cat,"** Duskfall groaned as he looked up at Grayfur, his blue eyes tired and distant. His voice was strained, and it sounded like there was two versions of him speaking in unison, his ordinary voice and much deeper voice that seemed to be unable to start or finish it's sentence in unison with the other voice.

The gray tom felt his skin crawl. The dark forest was destroying Duskfall and there was no hope for him now. He had to be put down, it was the only thing Grayfur could do to help him.

Duskfall stumbled towards him, coughing and hacking, spitting some strange, thick black ooze. **"I-I beg of you, the spread of the dark forest.. must be stopped,"** the fallen Starclan cat pleaded, the strain in his voice becoming more evident.

"Don't worry, I will," Grayfur felt a lump form in his throat, "a-and I'm afraid I'm going to have to kill you."

The fallen Starclan cat only wheezed in response, **"I-I understand, but please, hurry. I can't stand living li-"** Duskfall stopped mid sentence to grit his teeth and groan in pain **"-ke this, I'm losing my mind."** The blue-gray tom hissed in pain again, **"t-tell Silverheart I love her.. a-and that I'll always be by her side."**

Duskfall yelped in pain through gritted teeth and he began seizing up, his groans of pain slowly turned to growls of anger and frustration before he roared in anger. Duskfall's eyes were wide, like a fox backed into a corner.

What was left of Duskfall pounced for Grayfur. The gray tom rolled out of the way before the fallen Starclan warrior could land on him. Duskfall landed with a thud before quickly closing the distance between him and his opponent, the Starclan tom was taken aback by how quick Duskfall recovered, moments before he was shambling around like he broken his limbs. Even now Duskfall's movements were still jerky, yet he moved like he was made of water.

The blue-gray tom swiped with his left paw repeatedly, landing several hits before Grayfur blowed him over and attempted to slash at his adversary's neck, only to be kicked off instantly by Duskfall's hind legs.

The Starclan cat was dazed as his head slammed into one of the surrounding trees. Duskfall wasted no time in charging towards Grayfur. The Starclan cat evaded the charge as the former Starclan cat used his front paws to bounce off the tree, making an instant recovery.

The duo slowly circled each other, Duskfall snarling and groaning as the black slime that clinged to his pelt left a trail of where he had been.

Grayfur took the offensive approach and leaped for Duskfur, only for him to sidestep the attack, some of the ooze flew from his plet at the sudden movement, covering trees and the ground. The gray tom followed up with a swipe that caught Duskfall's muzzle leaving four large gashes.

Grayfur gave a cold stare as blood and black ooze dripped off his claws, Duskfall hissing in pain and frustration. Suddenly, the fallen Starclan cat swiped at the air, send the blackness that coated him into Grayfur's face. The Starclan cat screwed his eyes shut tightly, refusing to allow the ooze to take his eyes, allowing Duskfall to slam into him.

Grayfur tumbled to the ground groaning in pain, until he felt a sudden weight heave itself apon him. He opened his eyes to see the fallen cat had pinned him, groaning as he lifted his paw to land the final blow.

The Starclan cat, seeing an opening, kicked the blue-gray tom off him. Duskfall crashed into the ground and attempted scramble to his feet. But gray tom was on him instantly and quickly swiped across Duskfall's neck, coating his gray paw in blood and blackness.

The fallen cat kicked his opponent off and stood up, swaying as he attempted to move forward only to fall into the dirt.

Grayfur stood panting as he watched Duskfall's body fade into nothingness. He had solved one problem, but he still had a larger issue to deal with: how to stop the spread of the place of no stars.

But until then, all he could do was tell Starclan of what had transpired, and pass on Duskfall's final words onto Silverheart.


End file.
